Limited data are available on the clinical features and the outcomes of elderly patients with peripheral T cell lymphomas (PTCLs). We identified PTCL patients of age 60 years or older from the records of the Hematology Association of South East Korea between 2001 and 2014. The median age of the patients (70.4 % male) was 71 years (range 60-88 years). The majority (80.2 %) had stage III/IV disease, and 61.7 % of patients had Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) score 0. Out of 74 patients treated with chemotherapy, 62 were administered anthracycline-based combination chemotherapy (CHOP: 47 patients, CHOEP: 15 patients), and 12 received non-anthracycline-based combination chemotherapy (IMEP: 8 patients, and CVP: 4 patients). The overall response rate for the 74 patients treated with chemotherapy was 70.2 % (CR 37.8 % and PR 32.4 %). With a median follow-up of 23.8 (range 0.5-156) months, the estimated 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 16.6 and 45.9 %, respectively. There were no significant differences in PFS and OS between patients treated with anthracycline-based and non-anthracycline-based combination chemotherapy. In the univariate analysis, increased age, elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status >1, higher CCI, high or high-intermediate IPI, and PIT groups 3-4 were associated with shorter OS. Our findings may provide valuable information on the management and outcomes of elderly patients with PTCL in clinical practice.
Keywords: Chemotherapy; Peripheral T cell lymphomas; The elderly.